Tuesday, May 30, 2017

My day in the Garden
This is how my gardening days usually go lately; I can’t find anything in the yard anymore. I spend all my time looking for lost tools. I’ll prune something, stack it then drop the pruners to carry off debris, planning to return momentarily. I see something else on the way back to the pruners and become distracted from the pruning job.

A large clump of grasses or weeds lurking amongst the flowers catch my eye. I weed a bit then I begin to look for the rake to rake the weeds and grass I’ve just pulled before they can rebound and reroot. On my way to find the rake I see a lily with a heavy head that needs to be staked. I remember a stake is on the spent Iris so I go looking for it. I finally locate it then stake the plant.

Then I remember, as I see the wilting weeds, I am looking for the rake. I finally find it in some obscure place then rake the weeds into a pile. I need my gloves to pick up the pile so I go to the garden table to get them. Not there. I remember I took them to the house so they would not get rain soaked, so I go to get them on the ledge of the porch. Bingo. Gloves on I pick now up the weeds.

As I am carrying them off I see a six pack of wilting Petunias that desperately need to be put in the ground. I need my trowel. Hmmm? I look for one of my three trowels and finally find one in the herbs where I was digging grass days ago. I plant the Petunias then notice something that needs to be pruned.

I can't remember where I left the pruners, it’s getting hot, I’m beginning to sweat and need a drink of water. I’ve gone full circle. No wonder I'm tired at night.

Monday, May 22, 2017

For those of us who garden, Nature is fascinating, always
shifting, and emerging in different directions. From shere powers of our own observations
we notice changes however subtle. It seems that in spite of some current observations
which dispute Global Warming, it does indeed exist. I can recall the first time
I observed pollution from automobiles. It was a crisp winter day in 1986 and I
was taking my usual walk to the top of the hill on the little red dirt road. Since
we are only three miles from it, I could always see I-40 and this day for the
first time I noted a hazy brown line above the trucks and cars driving the
hi-way. Back then traffic was infrequent and I believe most goods were still
shipped by rail rather than trucks however since then the traffic is choking
and a monstrous cloud of hazy pollution may be seen for miles. With our
actions, mankind has indeed altered the climate of our planet, leaving
potential disaster in our wake.

With the knowledge of radical climate change, the ‘Doomsday
Vault’ to house seeds from all over the planet was built in 2008 in the most
perfect setting possible… the remote island of Svalbard Norway at the Arctic
Circle near the North Pole. As I wrote in April, the vault is humanity’s assurance of food perpetuation
in case of a catastrophic event, such as nuclear war or an asteroid strike.
Regardless of politics, each nation has contributed and the repository contains
over 865,000 varieties of seeds from around the globe, with an intended
capacity of 2.25 billion seeds.’

Built 8 stories down into the frozen tundra, the
Norwegian government felt the seeds were secure, nestled under permafrost which
is, as its name implies, permanent ice. Last week an alarming report of great
import was seen as a mere squiggle on the news… five days ago it was reported
the entrance to the vault had been breached by floodwater. The area sees only
snow however due to climate change and unusual warming there have been a series
of unexpected rains which melted the permafrost. Thankfully the flooding did
not make it to the seed depository.

Scientists have waterproofed and removed electronics
from the tunnel leading to the vault, and dug trenches to channel water. They have
hustled to install pumps in the seed room to save them should it be breached.
The Seeds are the life-blood
of the planet and mankind; they are perpetual and must be saved at all cost.

Perhaps
we should consider our own ‘global footprint’ which is the
measure of humanimpact upon the Earth's
ecosystems. It estimates how rapidly we are depleting Earth’s natural gifts
with our unconscious actions. Perhaps we should seek to slow down a bit and
simply enjoy the glorious moments we have been given.

Monday, May 1, 2017

If April showers bring May
flowers we will be delighted, particularly after the storms wrought such havoc.
The weekend storms were unlike any in recent memory with torrents of rain for
days, sustained winds that ripped and tore foliage, uprooted trees, produced mini-tornados,
and did substantial damage. These storms have an intensity that is frightening
and seem to increase in velocity as they travel across the country.

It is fortunate it is so
early in the season because Nature will repair the damage to the trees and
shrubs. However there is no such luck for the Peonies that were in full and
glorious bloom… the wind and rain shortened their show and it will not return
until next spring. The up side is the late blooming Iris are putting on new
buds and Oklahoma has finally emerged from our drought status.

In checking the garden, I
noted the deluge did not deter the hoards of bugs invading the garden. The most
invasive so far seems to be the blister bug seen scurrying among almost all the
garden vegetation. Blister bugs belong to a group of insects who have met on a
collision course with mankind for many years and are considered ‘very bad bugs‘.
They travel in packs and migrate to whatever seems delicious at the moment, and
unlike some insects that have a favorite flavor the blister bug eats everything
indiscriminately. Thus just as the produce and flowers reach their peak, they arrive
enmass and strip the plants of all protective foliage practically
overnight.

A clever insect, they have
been known to drop to the ground and ‘play dead’ when disturbed. When that
tactic fails, they release their infamous caustic toxin Cantharidin, and
it is from this they get their reputation as ‘blister bugs‘. If crushed, the
beetle literally bleeds this chemical from its joints and any skin contact with
this goo results in painful blisters.

Blister
bugs love alfalfa flowers and have often been accidentally ground up during
harvest resulting in Cantharidin infected hay. When consumed by
livestock the resulting blisters may cause illness so this beetle is quite
dangerous. To rid the garden of them I recommend shaking the branch and
stepping on them with hard sole shoes and since they will have squished, do not
touch the soles and leave your shoes outside… high and away from children or
pets.